Now that the Bush administration's occupation of Iraq has become more about enforcing the economic and political objectives of a corporate elite and less about disarming a dictator that used to be an American ally and had nothing to do with the tragedies of 9/11, a spirited and informed analysis of the conflagration -- and its various casualties -- is needed more than ever. Twilight of Empire fulfills that growing hunger for desperately needed on-the-ground truth and context far from the talking-head misinformation offered by conventional media outlets.

Many of the contributors have seen the devastation of American imperialism in Iraq first-hand. Code Pink's Jodie Evans, who traveled to Baghdad directly before and after the war, explains the stratification between American economic interests and Iraqi helplessness that is the occupation's chief characteristic. Yanar Mohammed, Anne Brodsky and RAWA's Tahmeena Faryal chronicle the abuse of Muslim women by both American occupiers and the increasingly fundamentalist Middle East citizenry. Ambassador Joseph Wilson -- no stranger to the Bush administration's wrong-headed execution of the invasion, as well as the last American official to meet with Saddam Hussein -- condemns the secrecy, shortsightedness and subterfuge at the heart of the president's campaign for war in Iraq.

Twilight of Empire also widens the scope of the occupation, connecting the dots and spotting the disturbing trends of economic opportunism at the heart of America's current foreign policy. Mark LeVine finds troubling similarities between the occupation of Iraq and Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, award-winning journalist Kristina Borjesson explains the invaluable hijacking of American mainstream media that made executing the war politically feasible, Naomi Klein breaks down the administration's alarming war profiteering through multinationals like Halliburton and Bechtel, and more.

The book is filled with harrowing narratives from photographer Lynsey Addario. Twilight of Empire refuses to shy away from the disconcerting state of Baghdad's infrastructure, the architectural and cultural devastation of Iraqi cities, and the mounting dissatisfaction with an American provisional authority seemingly disinterested in the safety, health and well-being of the society which it aims to liberate and democratize.

Twilight of Empire is ultimately an unflinching look at the corporate greed and manipulation at the bottom of what may be the most bungled foreign policy project in United States history. With the bodies piling up and no success in sight, Americans can no longer and sit idly by while their elected (and unelected) leaders gamble their future away. Twilight of Empire is a call for transparency and truth from an esteemed assemblage invested in putting the chaotic Iraqi puzzle together for those who are interested.